The Rise of Feudalism and the Early and High Middle Ages

Name:

True/False
Indicate whether the statement is true or false.

The goal of the First Crusade was to take Jerusalem and the area around it, known as the Holy Land, away from the Muslims who controlled it.

Most money-lenders were Jews because Christians were prohibited by religious laws from charging interest and because Jews were barred from many other occupations.

Fires and the spread of disease were constant threats in medieval cities.

Many Europeans believed that the Black Death had been sent by God to punish them for their sins.

About 10 million people, or one sixth of Europe’s population, died during the years of the plague.

Tournaments were relatively mild events, little battle actually occurred, and no one was ever in danger of being hurt.

It was extremely expensive to become a knight.

Most of the people in Medieval Europe belonged to the noble class.

Most knights kept to the code of chivalry and protected the lower classes.

10.

Heretics were people who adhered to the official teachings of the Roman Catholic Church during the Middle Ages.

11.

The Third Crusade, lead by Richard the Lion-Hearted, was the only successful Crusade.

12.

All serfs were peasants, but not all peasants were serfs.

Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

13.

Why did the pope name Charlemagne Emperor of the Roman People?

a.	to ensure Charlemagne would not attack the Papal States
b.	to thank Charlemagne for keeping him in power
c.	to reward the Lombards of Italy for faithful service to the church
d.	because Charlemagne refused to support the pope’s authority unless he was crowned emperor

14.

Europe became a feudal society because

a.	the rarity of cash required land to be used as a payment for services.
b.	Europeans needed to defend themselves against constant raids and invasions.
c.	overpopulation required that a more efficient agricultural system be developed.
d.	skilled craftspeople had emerged as farming techniques improved.

15.

The pope’s influence in the Middle Ages resulted from

a.	the fact that nearly everyone in Europe was Christian.
b.	the economic influence of the Papal States.
c.	the powerful army he headed under General Charlemagne.
d.	his appointment by the Roman Emperor.

16.

How did Charlemagne ensure that his counts remained loyal and did their jobs well?

a.	by sending monks to convert them to Christianity
b.	by setting up a system of rewards and punishments administered by inspectors
c.	by replacing all local rulers with members of the Carolingian family
d.	by ensuring that they received excellent educations

17.

Which of the following is considered one of the most important leaders in European history?

a.	Charles Martel	c.	Hugh Capet
b.	Louis the Pious	d.	Charlemagne

18.

Vikings began raiding northern Europe because

a.	they wanted to stop attacks on Scandinavia.
b.	they had converted to Christianity and sought Christian relics.
c.	they wanted to spread their religion.
d.	Viking farmers could not grow enough food.

19.

The feudal system had which of the following effects?

a.	It centralized government.
b.	It diminished the power of kings.
c.	It increased the pope’s power.
d.	It freed most Europeans from work obligations.

20.

The goal of the First Crusade was to

a.	convert Muslims to Christianity.
b.	take Jerusalem and the Holy Land away from the Byzantines.
c.	take Jerusalem and the Holy Land away from the Muslims.
d.	conquer Constantinople.

21.

Which of the following was an effect of the Crusades?

a.	Roman Catholics became more tolerant of Eastern Orthodoxy and Judaism.
b.	Knights gained political power.
c.	Important trade routes were destroyed.
d.	European kings gained more political power.

22.

Why were many of the written works created during the Early Middle Ages religious texts?

a.	Most people did not enjoy reading epics or romances.
b.	Church law required it.
c.	Few people outside of the clergy could read and write.
d.	Few people were very religious.

23.

The Black Death led to

a.	massive witch hunts throughout Europe.
b.	the collapse of the medieval manor system.
c.	greater religious tolerance in Western Europe.
d.	the end of the Hundred Years’ War.

24.

The pope excommunicated all Crusaders taking part in the Fourth Crusade because they

a.	massacred entire communities of Jews in Europe.
b.	attacked a Christian city to pay their passage to the Holy Land.
c.	worshipped idols and prayed to icons.
d.	burned the holy city of Jerusalem to the ground.

25.

Which of the following was one effect of the Crusades?

a.	Relations between religious groups became more strained.
b.	Jews moved to Jerusalem.
c.	Trade decreased.
d.	The feudal system strengthened.

26.

Which of the following founded new towns during the medieval period?

a.	feudal lords	c.	farmers
b.	bishops	d.	merchants

27.

Both Geoffrey Chaucer and Dante Alighieri wrote in

a.	Latin.	c.	the vernacular.
b.	English.	d.	calligraphy.

28.

What is another name for the plague that devastated Europe in the mid-1300s?

a.	the Human Scourge	c.	the Black Death
b.	the Mongol Hordes	d.	the Danse Macabre

29.

Feudalism was a new system of what?

a.	governing and landholding	c.	taxing and collecting
b.	fighting and defense	d.	structuring Byzantine society

30.

Which two men stood as the first example of feudalism?

a.	Constantine and Procopius	c.	Charlemagne and Pope Leo III
b.	Charles the Simple and Rollo	d.	Pope Urban II and Alexius Comenemnus

31.

Choose the correct order of the feudal pyramid, starting with the most important person(s) and ending with the least important person(s).

a.	clergy, king, vassals, peasants	c.	vassals, peasants, lords, king
b.	king, peasants, vassals, serfs	d.	king, nobles/clergy, vassals, peasants

32.

Which two inventions revolutionized technology in combat in Europe during the 700s?

a.	the sword and shield	c.	the mantlet and trebuchet
b.	the spear and lance	d.	the saddle and stirrup

33.

Through warfare, feudal lords were able to accomplish which of the following?

a.	defend their estates	c.	increase their wealth
b.	seize new territories	d.	all of the above

34.

What is the correct order of the education of a knight?

a.	age 7 page, age 14 knight, age 21 squire	c.	age 7 page, age 14 squire, age 21 knight
b.	age 7 squire, age 14 knight, age 21 page	d.	none of the above

35.

What term is used for a complex set of ideals that demanded a knight display courage in battle, loyalty to their lord, and fight for three masters?

a.	chivalry	c.	troubadour
b.	feudalism	d.	tithe

36.

What purpose did the castle serve in medieval times?

a.	sign of status among lords	c.	defense of the manor house and people
b.	home of the lord and lady	d.	all answers are correct

37.

Which of the following siege weapons was used like a giant slingshot and could hurl objects, such as boulders, up to 980 feet?

a.	mangonel	c.	mantlet
b.	trebuchet	d.	battering ram

38.

Who was the first person to organize a group of mounted warriors in combat as knights?

a.	Charlemagne	c.	Charles Martel
b.	Justinian	d.	Pope Leo III

39.

Joan of Arc was burned at the stake for committing which of the following offenses?

a.	lay investiture	c.	heresy
b.	war crimes	d.	simony

40.

How were the burghers able to gain power from the lords in medieval towns?

a.	through the use of collective bargaining	c.	by setting up trade fairs only once a year to create consumer panic
b.	by establishing trade guilds and controlling prices	d.	using brute force and taking over the lord’s estate

41.

What was the outcome of the Children’s Crusade?

a.	victory in the Holy Land for Stephen and his followers	c.	thousands of children being sold into slavery in North Africa
b.	the death of thousands of Children in Rome at the hand of the Pope	d.	the relocation of the children to the Byzantine Empire

42.

How was the plague spread to Western Europe in the High Middle Ages?

a.	through trade caravans traveling from Asia through the Black and Mediterranean Seas to the ports of Italy	c.	through contact of different merchants along trade routes traveling throughout Western Europe
b.	on fleas that were carried by rats on different trade ships to Italy	d.	all answers are correct

Completion
Complete each statement.

43.

Although they were not slaves, ____________________ were legally tied to the manor on which they worked and could not leave without permission.

44.

____________________ was declared Emperor of the Roman People by Pope Leo III.

45.

The land given to a knight for his service to a lord was called a ____________________.

46.

Under the feudal system, a person who owed service to a lord was called a ____________________.

47.

King John was forced to sign a document known as ____________________, which restricted the monarch’s right to raise taxes or punish people without cause.

48.

A series of wars launched by popes against the Muslims of Southwest Asia was called the ____________________.

49.

The ____________________ Crusade was the only one in which the Crusaders achieved their goal.

50.

The series of religious wars launched by European Christians in the Middle Ages are known as the ____________________.

51.

____________________ was the Muslim leader who retained control of the Holy Land during the Third Crusade.

52.

____________________, which were usually held in towns, had an astonishing variety of goods available and attracted huge crowds of people.

53.

People banded together in trade organizations called ____________________ to protect their common interests.

54.

_______________ is the common, everyday language of the people.

55.

The Inquisitions of the 1400s in Spain stemmed from the _______________, a charge from the King and Queen of Spain to dispel non-believers from the Iberian peninsula.

56.

Although only a teenager, _______________ was able to rally the French troops, push back the English, and gain victories for the French in the Hundred Years War.

Short Answer

57.

Charlemagne made sweeping changes to many areas of Frankish society, including politics, education, religion, and law. In which area do you think Charlemagne had the greatest impact? Why?

58.

Describe the duties a knight had to his lord and the duties a lord had to his knights.

59.

What caused feudalism to emerge in Europe?

60.

What did a typical medieval manor include?

61.

Had you lived in medieval Europe, would you have rather lived in a castle or in a village? Explain your answer.

62.

What profound social changes occurred as a result of the Crusades?

63.

Describe what it might have been like to live in a European city during the Middle Ages.

64.

Summarize the causes and effects of the plague.

65.

Describe the Cause and Effect relationship of the Crusades. What were the different causes of the Crusades and how did the Crusades change and impact Western Europe?

66.

How did the movie Kingdom of Heaven potray the complex society formed in the Middle Ages through feudalism and what can be learned from its depiction of the Crusades to the Holy Land?